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Zerostart coolant heater install help needed

7K views 26 replies 8 participants last post by  imquattro 
#1 ·
I picked up one of these 1000W coolant heaters from Zerostart from a local yard for only a couple bucks. Pulled it from a Passat TDI.
I'm going to install it into my '04 V10 TDI and want some suggestions as to which coolant lines to plumb it into.
I'd like to have heat when I get in on cold mornings.
 

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#3 ·
You already have a Webasto installed. Why not upgrade it to a parking heater with a remote. Lots of info on here about how to do that. Then you don't have to plug in the Zerostart.
 
#4 ·
I've installed my coolant heater on the v10 today and will test it's functionality prior to posting pictures for others looking to do the same. Actually rather simple to do and only cost $18 in supplies + price of coolant heater.
 
#7 ·
Did you just cut a coolant line and insert this inline? That may not work as expected.
 
#11 ·
I also have not had any starting issues, but it's only been down to single digits over night.
I'm after a quick warmup and not shivering for the first 10 mins of the 15-20 min drive I make to work.
 
#13 ·
/\ what he said /\
 
#20 ·
Coolant heater only worked marginally in the lines I plumbed into.
It was in the teens (F) last night and while I had no frost on the front of my Touareg compared to my wife's parked next to it, the coolant was only approx 40-50F and still felt cold after starting the vehicle. Warm up was only slightly quicker (by about 3 minutes).
Due to limited space in the engine compartment, a circulation pump may be required as relying on hydronics didn't work where the heater and line are located.
I have an after-run coolant pump from a former S4/6 that I may add inline and power it with a small AC/DC converter. From my research it shouldn't draw much more than 2amps and could potentially be spliced into the main AC 120V power cable.

I'll post more when I have given that a try.
 
#22 ·
Some pix would be good. . . .
 
#24 ·
Do you have at least 12" of rise from the heater to where the outlet is connecting to the engine?
 
#25 ·
When I first installed the coolant heater in the V10 I wasn't able to get the coolant to hydronically move the coolant due to the hose routing necessary to mount the heater.
Today, to fix that problem, I installed a spare coolant circulation pump off an Audi S4 that I had parted out a couple years ago.
Its an after-run coolant pump that originally was used to circulate coolant through the Audi's turbo and then through the radiator to prevent heat soak and oil coking in the turbo after the engine is shut off.
It runs on 12VDC so I also installed a AC/DC 12V 1.9A converter to run the pump and tied it into the power wire for the ZeroStart heater. These were all parts pulled from storage.
The pump and heater are installed in the coolant line that feeds #3, #2, and #1 (see picture) and follow the described coolant flow.
The pump is set to draw from the outlet (top of the heater) and push up the heated coolant though to the Webasto & heater core, which then recirculates back to the block at the thermostat housing.
I'm aware the pump wasn't designed to run constant for hrs on end, so I'll be plugging the power cord into a timer to cycle the heater/pump on/off through out the night.
I will report back after tonight's test run in the 20F's.
 

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#27 ·
posting back with an update on the 1000w heater installed with circulation pump.
Temps have averaged in the teens to single digits here in PA over night.
I've set a timer on the unit to run for up to 5hrs straight with no to little affect on coolant temperature.
While the coolant is warmer than ambient air -above freezing- its not warm when starting up and getting the air blowing out of the vents.
THe coolant gauge doens't budge when started until 3-5 mins of driving and heat isn't noticable for at least 5 minutes of driving.
SO, all in all, the 1000W unit isn't strong enough to warm this beast up given 5hr of run time.
I think I'll remove it and resell to a smaller tdi owner.
It was fun trying.
 
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